Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the Persian version of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A)

Abstract

Purpose Achilles tendinopathy is a prevalent overuse injury among athletes and in those with a sedentary lifestyle. Current evidence indicates that the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire is a valid, reliable and disease-specific outcome measure for assessing the clinical symptoms in patients with Achilles tendinopathy. The objective of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the VISA-A questionnaire into Persian (VISA-A-P) and evaluating its psychometric properties. Materials and methods Cultural adaptation of VISA-A-P was conducted according to Beaton’s guideline. The final version of VISA-A-P was handed to 61 patients for analysis of psychometric properties. Test–retest reliability, internal consistency, concurrent validity, item-total correlation, and floor/ceiling effect were evaluated in patients with Achilles tendinopathy. To assess test–retest reliability, 35 patients refilled the VISA-A-P twice within 5–7 days. Known-group validity was evaluated using 50 healthy individuals. Results VISA-A-P showed excellent test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.90), excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.95), strong correlation with FAAM, and moderate to strong correlation with FAOS questionnaires. There was a significant difference between the average score of patients (34.55 ± 18.24) and the healthy group (73.1 ± 20.10). VISA-A-P showed neither ceiling nor floor effect. Conclusions The VISA-A-P is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the symptoms in Persian speaking populations with Achilles tendinopathy. Implications for rehabilitation Achilles tendinopathy is a debilitating overuse injury that insidiously affects tendoAchilles. VISA-A-P revealed acceptable validity and reliability and it could be used by Persian speaking clinicians and researchers to assess pain and function in people with Achilles tendinopathy.